


Undercover Loving

by megmeg654



Category: Riverdale - Fandom
Genre: AU, F/M, Friendship/Love, Gang, Love, Marriage, Police, Protection, Undercover, Witness Protection, married, serpents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 22:49:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12640884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megmeg654/pseuds/megmeg654
Summary: Elizabeth sat in the dingy New York bar- in a too short dress, makeup smeared across her face in what was supposed to be attractive, a gun hidden somewhere under this crazy dress, and a wire taped in between her breasts. Looking to take down one New York’s largest crime organization wouldn’t be easy and no where near safe.———————Jughead never thought he would be the kind of Snake that would rat to the feds, but things were changing in the gang he grew up in. Getting more serious- things he couldn’t look past anymore and still sleep at night. So he knew this would be the only small way he could possibly make up for anything he or any of the other serpents had ever done- talking to the feds. He just didn’t know the feds were leggy blondes who didn’t take any of his crap and make him feel like he was looking straight into the sun.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Don’t be too harsh this is an AU lol

Elizabeth sat in the dingy New York bar- in a too short dress, makeup smeared across her face in what was supposed to be attractive, a gun hidden somewhere under this crazy dress, and a wire taped in between her breasts.  
She was no where near comfortable but she knew this would be her big opportunity to move from New York City cop to detective- something she had dreamed of ever since her parents were killed doing a story for the New York Times. This was one of her first few times being undercover- and boy was it a good one. One of these so called serpents had decided to give us some juicy information that could help in one of cases that could bring this snake pit down.  
Normally she wouldn’t be caught dead with this heavy of makeup or this much skin exposed, but Elizabeth knew she had to shove down her pride and pretend like she was having a good time. And how does one have a good time? One gets a drink- that was what she would do, probably wouldn’t drink it but she would hold it and pretend this was a normal night out for her.  
She walked up to the bar and looked around for the bartender, it was a busy night- she knew it might be a while before she would get service.  
“Hey- what can I get you?” The voice interrupted her thoughts and immediately she put on her most flirty smile she could and pushed her breasts up, she had to play the part. And of course the part was dumb bimbo.  
He wasn’t too har on the eyes, pretty black hair under a strange looking grey beanie, his stormy eyes traveled down looking at her chest before quickly meeting her eyes again. At least this guy had the decency to blush, and the Elizabeth part of her felt her ears turning red in return- but the undercover part she was playing had to be cool.  
“Hmmm. I’ll have a gin and tonic.” He nodded his head and went to work on her drink.  
“I’ve never seen you around here before, having fun?” Her heart beat a little faster about being questioned but she tried to stay casual.  
“Yea a friend of mine said it was cool, anyways.... What do they call you?”  
The bartender smirked at her before pouring her drink, “What do they call me? They call me FP, how bout you Blondie, they call you Barbie?”  
The emphasis he put on the word they obviously meant he didn’t like that they called him that, but he quickly switched to sarcasm when he pointed out one of her most notable features.  
Elizabeth smiled and twirled her hair around her finger before answering, “No, not Barbie. It’s Polly, after the pocket.”  
FP smiled at her before placing her gin and tonic on the table, “Well Polly Pocket.... Have fun.”  
Elizabeth grabbed the drink and walked towards her destination, she intended to have fun- just not the type everyone else in here was having. She looked to her right and nodded at the other two undercovers in the place, saying she was about to start.  
They nodded their confirmation before turning towards each other and started pushing each other, intending to start a fight. They were certainly making a commotion so she slipped in the employee hallway and started walking towards the basement- where she knew the drugs and guns would be.  
Elizabeth was about to turn the corner when she heard footsteps, a big man came sauntering around the corner and when he spotted her his eyes went wide.  
“What are you doing back here? Stupid bitch...”  
Elizabeth was a whirl of emotion- panic and nervousness for being caught, anger for what he said, but she knew she had to think of something and quick. She looked at the drink in her hand and knew what to do.  
“I’m sssorry, I was just looking for the bathroom, it’s not over here?” She slured her words and stumbled a bit over her feet for extra effect.  
“No, this is not the bathroom. Get out of here.”  
Dammit he wasn’t buying the drunk card, she needed a new tactic.  
“Hmmmm your a big guy, cute too. Wannaaa....” She let her words hang, hoping he would take the bait- and boy did she catch a big one. He smiled with glee and that curled her insides- and not in a good way.  
They started kissing and Elizabeth let him take control, thinking about how to get past him. Suddenly he pushed her up against the wall and started attacking her neck, that’s when she knew.  
Elizabeth wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed herself above him. Smiling to herself and to him she put her hands around his neck and started to squeeze.  
“Oh you like it rough, do you?” He smiled at her while she put more pressure- thinking this was going in a direction he would enjoy.  
“You have no idea...” That’s when the mans face started registering that she was a threat, not the drunken idiot he could take advantage of. His face was turning a purplish blue and his grip on her was lessening. Finally he was unconscious- the easy part. Now the hard part- dragging his 250 plus pound body out of the way.  
She pushed him in a closet and prayed she wouldn’t encounter anyone else on the way to the basement.  
Elizabeth saw the door and slowly pushed it open and she was in what any criminal would call illegal heaven, everywhere she looked she saw things they could use to prosecute.  
“It’s here. All of it, rush the building now. I’m about to-“  
“What the hell?” Elizabeth looked up into the eyes of a man she would never forget- ugly devilish eyes that bore into her soul.  
It was silent between the two and neither of them said a word, then they heard the unmistakable call of ‘NYPD’ and he turned back to her with hate blazing his eyes.  
“The cops are here... Clear it all- let’s go!” He screamed it at the twenty odd men who were in here.  
“Sorry sweetheart I don’t have enough time to play with you now, maybe later.”  
The green eyed devil took his gun out of his holster and Elizabeth knew this could be it for her, the end of them line. She looked up to see the butt of the gun come rushing towards her head before it all went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Jughead watched the blonde walk away with a strange feeling in his stomach, when she had asked for his name he had almost said Jughead. Which was completely uncharacteristic for him as no one had known that nickname since he was 13 years old. His sister was the only one who was allowed to call him that.  
The whole family had lived in Jersey until his mom up and left and took Jelly with her. It was the worst day of his life finding out his mom had left- his sister was gone- and his mom didn’t even want to take him with her. On top of all that his dad went into a drunken stupor and probably didn’t even notice that he had ran away a few days later.   
Jughead hadn’t gotten very far, only so far a tiny kid like him could get- he was all alone in a dark alley shivering- when a serpent had found him. They took him into the bar and fed him, told him he could be part of the family and asked for his name.   
It took him a while to answer, his sisters departure still fresh in his head and his name was special- only meant for her. So instead he told them his fathers name, called himself FP and learned how to be part of this extra violent family. And he never uttered that name since- he was only FP to the people here, but he had wanted to tell this ‘Polly’ his real name.   
Strange. He’d probably never see her again, she was cute in the ‘I normally don’t do this kind of thing’ way. It was endearing.   
“Hey you! I need a beer..”   
That was his night, people yelling at him to get them a drink. Kinda reminded him of his father- telling him to to pour a drink over and over until he was off his head drunk- sort of ironic that was his profession now.   
Jughead never thought he would turn his back on the serpents but after he found out what was going on behind the back doors he couldn’t sit back anymore. Selling weed- fine. Selling small weapons- he didn’t like but he could live with it if it was the worst thing. But no- now they were selling big guns and the bad drugs and worst of all they beginning to get into the business of human trafficking and he couldn’t sit by and watch that happen.  
So he reached out to the police and told them what he could, and in exchange for his testimony against the serpents he would eventually live a free life with no parole.   
Jughead was contemplating how he couldn’t look any of his old friends in the eyes anymore- he was turning his back on the snakes- when he heard a yell at the door of the bar.   
“NYPD!! Put your hands u-“  
And then all hell broke loose.   
There were gunshots from both sides and he couldn’t tell who had started it. Jughead wanted with all his might to get up and run away like most of the other snakes were trying to do, but he knew he had to stay and be arrested. He needed the snakes to think he was locked up so they wouldn’t look for him before he testified against them. So he crouched behind the bar and waited for some cop to come and cuff him.   
Finally someone did come and throw him up against the bar, these cops didn’t know it was him who snitched- only the detectives knew and they would get him after.   
All the guys who hadn’t gotten away were getting hauled off to the station, they went outside and saw absolute mayhem. There were police cars everywhere, SWAT cars to the side, helicopters in the sky, ambulances for the people who got shot- it was crazy. And Jughead was shoved into a big truck with the other serpents and had to listen to them bitch and moan about how they didn’t do anything and how this was all bullshit. Jughead knew for a fact that most of the guys in here with him had done some serious shit and had no right to talk about being innocent.   
They processed him and sat him in a room by himself, ready to be questioned. The door swung open and in cane the detective he had talked to before- he knew all of Jughead a deepest confessions.   
“So FP, some good news and bad.” The detective opened a file before sitting in the seat across from him.   
“What is it?”  
“All of your information was vital and made a great difference, however the main guy we wanted to catch got away with quite a bit of product. The leader of this crime family is who we were hoping to catch as you know, and he escaped. As far as we know he doesn’t know it was you who talked, but were thinking of putting you into a special program until the trial, just incase. You understand.”  
“No I don’t understand. Where am I going?” Jughead was starting to sweat he knew his betrayal would mean nothing if he couldn’t testify against them.   
“No need to get your panties in a twist. We might need to protect you- but until we make any official decisions you will be held in the holding room, and I would advise you keep your mouth shut in front of all the other snakes in holding.” The detective moved to get up with his file and a sort of anger at his cavalier attitude was starting to get to Jughead.   
“I’m not an idiot. I just want to know exactly how long I’m going to have to wait for you to make a decision.”  
“Well I’ll be sure to make sure that your the first to know,” the sarcasm in his voice was irritating as Jughead was lead out of the room into holding.   
He sat and waited hoping for the info to come as fast as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

Elizabeth woke up in a room so white it blinded her for a moment, she groggily looked around the hospital room, where she saw an agent sitting in the corner waiting for her to wake up. She couldn’t have been here for long as she was still wearing her clothes and makeup from the sting operation she had just come from.   
The devil eyes she saw every time she closed her eyes still seemed to haunt her- but she pushed the thought to the back of her head as she cleared her throat, letting th regent know she was awake.   
“Officer Cooper. You’re awake. Good.” The agent was terse and spoke in small sentences that set her on edge, her head still aches from being knocked out and she needed some information.  
“What am I doing here?”  
“You were required to be assessed- a standard checkup. Nothings wrong you’ll just have a bump on your head for a few days and a headache that a few things of Advil will fix.”  
She nodded her head, it didn’t feel like anything serious, “Well then what are you doing here?”  
“I need to escort you home, and then tomorrow you have a meeting to get to with Detective Scott.” Now that sounded serious, something good- like a promotion. Or something bad- like a shakedown for not taking the man who knocked her out into custody.   
Elizabeth got her wits about her and headed out of the hospital with the agent close on her heels, he escorted her to his car where he drove her to her apartment.   
At first she was a little wary, Elizabeth insisted she didn’t need a babysitter, but she couldn’t deny she was still a little shaken from the knock in the head. Once she got in bed she passed out and didn’t move a muscle till she heard banging on her door the next day.   
9:20  
Wow. She had slept a full 12 hours, but Elizabeth knew she would have to be focused and prepared for anything that was said when she has the meeting with the detective.   
She wasn’t sure what kind of meeting this was so she grabbed her black slacks and a plum blouse before pairing it with her dark blazer. She wanted to look professional for this meeting- so nothing fancy. Elizabeth twisted her hair into a bun on the back of her head before clipping her badge and belt onto her waist. Grabbing her gun she strapped in and headed out the door.   
Who knows what she was walking into as she looked at the door to Detective Scott’s office. She rapped at He door three times before standing back with her arms behind her back.   
“Come in Cooper.”  
Elizabeth opened the door and stood in front of the chairs waiting for him to instruct her to sit.   
“Sit. Please, we have a lot to discuss.”  
“Of course, sir.” She swallowed before sitting down and taking a deep breath.  
“Obviously you know that you were knocked unconscious at the op, but what you don’t know is that we believe you were struck down by the leader of the Southside Serpents. We don’t know anything about him really- but is there any information you could give us about him that you noticed before you were knocked out?”  
“His eyes. His eyes were green, and deadly.”  
“Well your lucky you weren’t killed, but like it or not he spotted you. And your cover was blown- so know he knows what you look like and that you were a cop. Which we think means that it is not safe for you to stay in the city right now-“   
She cut him off before he could continue, “No. I need this, sir. I need to see this through. You can’t expect me to sit in some safe house and do nothing for who knows how long...”   
“And we don’t expect that from you. We have a job in mind. The burea thinks that the man who has helped us with our investigation could possibly be in danger. So we were going to assign you to protect him until the trial.”   
Her face must have shown how much she really didn’t want this because he continued before she could protest, “You will both go undercover for the protection program and after that- if it is successful then we will have a discussion about where you should go from here. Understand?” He was talking about maybe giving her a promotion, and all she had to do was keep some old crony from dying until he could testify. There couldn’t be an easier way to get that promotion than this.   
“I actually think that might not be so bad of an idea-“ She was cutoff from continuing when a knock came on the door and a head popped through.  
“Sir we have the man you requested..”   
“Yes, send him in.”  
The door opened wider and a dark haired man with a familiar grey beanie walked in. Of course.   
“Polly?”


	4. Chapter 4

Jughead waited outside the door while the officer peeked in to tell the detective of his arrival, when mercifully they let him in the office. Sarcasm if you can’t already tell.  
He turned to give the detective a piece of his mind when he saw her, and his tongue stuck to the top of his mouth. Like a dog who ate too much peanut butter, he was stunned and couldn’t say a word. She looked so different from when he last saw the girl who called herself ‘Polly’, here she looked so professional- and to his delight surprised.  
“Please, sit. This is officer Elizabeth Cooper. She was at the club the night of the sting-“ The Cooper girl cut him off.  
“Yes sir, we met that night. I didn’t know he was the informant. It’s nice to officially meet you. FP, right?” She stuck her hound out to shake and in his haze of a brain he seemed to appropriately respond. This Elizabeth was a stark difference to the other night, her hair was neatly done- hardly any makeup and compared to the other night this outfit was way more conservative.   
Jughead s mind couldn’t help going to tv shows and movies with a beautiful cop like this Elizabeth Cooper. He felt like the length of his stare was starting to merge into the creepy area, so with his gaze averted he tried to subtly study her instead. It seemed like there was a slight bruise growing near the crown of her forehead and for some strange reason it made him angry that someone had put it on her between now and the last time he saw her.   
“and for your safety, it would be prudent if you both agreed to this. Are you even listening, sir?” Jughead’s cheeks embarrassingly turned red at being called out for not listening to the conversation- reminding him of his time in high school achingly so.  
“I’m sorry. Could you repeat yourself, I promise I’ll listen this time.” He tried to add a little humor to his tone to keep the conversation light.  
“What I was saying is that both you and Ms Cooper here, could possibly be in danger in the next few months if you stay here- in the city. So what I am proposing is that you both are given new identities and head to a new place until the trial. Ms Cooper would protect you from any and all dangers as would be her duty, and until the time comes that we need you to return, you would both be out of harms way.”   
“Woah, woah woah... I don’t need anyone to protect me- I’ve been doing fine with it my whole life-“   
He was cut off by the protector in question, “Well then don’t think of it like protection. Think of it like babysitting, I’ll make sure you don’t try to make a run of it before we need you to testify.”  
“She’s right we will need your testimony in court and it wouldn’t be so bad. We would provide you with housing, all utilities and food privelages- up to a point. And in return we would ask that both of you simply keep a low profile and act accordingly.”  
Jughead was about to protest again when the detective cut him off before he could utter a word, “And let me remind you that we don’t really need your permission, if you would like to go the hard route we could hole you up in a safe house in the middle of nowhere and keep you there until the right time. This is the easy choice, don’t you agree?”  
Elizabeth was nodding her head, whether she really agreed or was just following the lead of her superior was beyond him, but he decided it would probably be easier to just agree than sit and be lectured until he was made too.  
“So now that we are in agreement, what are our identities going to be, sir?”  
“Well, Cooper- you and FP here will be a newly married couple just moving to a small town to hopefully raise a family. Something along those lines. Let’s see your new name will be the..... Hmmm... Oh right here- you are the Jones’s” Detective Scott looked into his paperwork searching for their new names before handing the file to Elizabeth.   
“I figured I would let both of you decide your first names for yourself. Something easy to remember, like Liz, Beth, Betty, Lizzie.... whatever you guys want. I need the decision now though- I need to put the requests in for paperwork.”  
His head was spinning, a new name, a married couple, a house??? And she just nodded her head like this wasn’t one of the biggest and fastest changes he’d had to come to in his whole adult life. Names..... Memorable. What? He’d been FP his whole life, how to change now?  
“I think I’ll go with Betty.”  
“Okay Betty Jones and....” the detective let his question draw out, pen ready.   
This seemed fast and stressful- so he just spit out the first name he could think of that no one knew and he could remember.   
“Jughead.”  
“O..okay. Betty and Jughead Jones. Alright.”  
Shit.


	5. Chapter 5

Betty sat in the passenger seat of the moving van, keys in hand and stress rolling off of her in waves. They had just entered what most would say rural New York. And she was responsible for this Jughead who sat next to her- every few minutes his eyes would get distracted and a crinkle would form between his eyebrows before he reached over to change the station. It had been a few days since their conversation with detective Scott in his office, they had wanted this to be as fast of a start as possible. Scott wanted both Jughead and her out of the City fast, so they spent the next few days in cramped quarters calling each other ‘Betty’ and ‘Jughead’ over and over so the names would stick and their wouldn’t be any slipups.   
“Ugh.... I’m starving!”   
“We ate like twenty minutes ago.”  
“You call that eating!! It was a power bar that we split. No I want real food.” She rolled her eyes- yeah she was hungry too, but they were in the middle of no where. No McDs anywhere around here.   
“Look it says we’re like twenty two minutes away from our destination, we’ll drop off all our crap- they said they left us a car in the drive way that should be waiting. Then we’ll go in search of something real to eat, alright?”  
“Finneee. I’m not going to be any fun for the next thirty minutes or so then, food keeps me happy. But when I’m depraved of my joy, hell hath no fury...”  
Betty turned her head towards the window in hopes of quieting her own rumbling stomach, but her face still let a small smile slip through.

 

The little blue house was pretty small but cozy, and seemed quite comfy- neither of the two really cared to look at their new surroundings though. All that was on their minds was food, the diner they saw on their ways here left a lasting impression on their hungry minds. Unlike Jughead, Betty was able to put aside her uncomfortableness and focus on driving carefully and keeping a careful eye on their surroundings just Incase.   
But when they got into the diner the sweet smell of greasy food made their growling stomachs ten times louder.   
Pop’s was a retro diner that seemed to be home to all generations, as they grabbed the first booth they saw- it seemed their presence wouldn’t go unnoticed.  
“Hi what can I get you two tonight?”  
Jughead answered first, “Double cheese burger with fries. Chocolate shake. Thank you.”  
“And for you?”  
“I’ll have the same but with bacon on the burger and a vanilla shake, thanks.” She handed the girl their menus before turning to look back at the man across from her.   
It was strange thinking about how the man she had ordered a drink from was now playing the part of her husband, and now she was playing his wife as well. Something she wasn’t completely comfortable with, she wasn’t really sure how to properly convince people of their story with a stranger.  
“You know they’re all staring, right?” He laughed as he whispered towards her.  
Betty’s head whipped around to look at all the patrons around them, looking for danger.  
“Hmmm?”  
“Yea, that’s how it is in small towns. I grew up in a small town in Jersey- when I was younger we always knew when there was someone new in town.”  
“I don’t like it.” She couldn’t help but feel their eyes on the both of them and it made her feel wary.  
“Relax, it doesn’t look like they mean any harm. I’m sure the worst that will happen will be a terrible rumor about how we strange crazies from out of town and that’ll be all.”  
She chuckled before looking back at Jughead- trying to keep her mind off of the few pairs of eyes on them in the restaurant, “This is a first for me, big city my whole life.”  
She was about to continue when the waitress came out with their orders, and then there was no talking for at least ten minutes while the two of them scarfed down their meals.  
“Oh my god, that burger was amazing. I can’t tell if it’s because I was so freaking hungry or it was just really amazing. Well, I guess the only way to really tell is to come back and have another when I’m not so hungry.”   
Betty couldn’t agree more, this was an amazingly delicious meal something she swore should have been on a show like Diners, Dives and Drive In’s- something about the shake and burger combo.  
“Damn that was great, I was hoping to have some left overs to bring back- but we demolished all that.”   
Jughead nodded at her statement when he got up from his seat and started walking her hand shot out and grabbed his arm,  
“Where are you going?!”   
“To pay the bill, relax.”  
He was right she needed to relax, it was hard for her to force herself to let go of the reigns even a little bit. This was a job she couldn’t screw up- if she fucked this one up she would lose her chances at becoming a detective, and that was not an option. But getting herself into a tizzy about this whole thing would only make her lose more focus.   
“You ready?” He interupted her thoughts, but she looked up at him and gave a small smile before nodding. They walked to the car and left the brightly lit Pop’s behind them- no doubt they would be back.  
Once they arrived back at what would be heir new home for who knows how long, Betty couldn’t help but feel like they were on a high school first date, the awkwardness of going inside and figuring things out was going to be hard.   
But before she could even say anything Jughead but in, “I’ll take the couch..”   
“No it should be me- you take the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.”  
“It’s okay I really don’t mind, what kind of husband would I be if I let you take the couch?” He said it with a certain amount of sarcasm that still meant businesses.   
“No that’s not why-“  
“Look we can take turns with the couch okay? Me one night, you another if that makes you feel better?” It didn’t not really; but if this was all he was going to give- fine.   
Betty wanted to be the one on the couch for no noble reasons- only because it was right next to the door and she would be able to sleep better if she could guard the door at the same time.  
This wasn’t going how she expected with the boy from the bar, strange but exciting.


	6. Chapter 6

Jughead woke to the glorious smell of bacon and all things breakfast. Groaning, he sat up- he could see Betty working busily in the kitchen.  
“Good Morning, Jughead.” The kitchen was his haven, the coffee pot calling his name he shuffled towards it.   
“Hey...” he stopped to yawn before continuing, “Jesus it’s early... What time is it?”  
She sheepishly walked back over to the stove to take the bacon off, “Oh... like six thirty? Ish?”  
“Oh my god, what an ungodly hour. Why are you up so early?” Jughead rubbed his eyes before heading to the table to pick up the pancakes and eggs she had made and brought them to the table.   
“Oh no reason really... Just a normal hour for me I guess.” Didn’t really seem like the full truth to him. But he let it go as she brought the bacon over. “Okay dig in!”   
Both of them stacked their plates high, but Jughead finished his portion way before her and went in for seconds.   
“Wow that was delicious... I don’t think I’ve had a meal like that made at home- in like forever.”  
“Well I love to cook, so maybe I’ll make you fat for the trial- you’ll look completely different.” She was smiling at him and Jughead couldnt help the fact that his ears tinged red or his heartbeat quickened up. She was amazing.  
“So I talked to Scott before we left and he said we should probably get jobs. Something easy and simple just so it seems like we intend to stay. Y’know? And I was thinki-“   
The rest of her sentence was cutoff by a quick three knocks on the door, and Jughead didn’t know how she had moved so fast- but in the next instant she was at the coat closet taking out her gun.   
Betty motioned for him to stay quiet while she checked the peep hole, before hollering out.   
“Who is it?” She turned her head and silently told him to move all his crap off the couch and shove it in the bedroom.   
A sickeningly sweet voice responded to Betty’s question, “The names Cheryl Blossom, mayor of Riverdale and head of the welcoming committee. I’ve just come to bring you a welcoming basket from the town.   
Betty nodded her head and put the gun away before plastering the brightest smile he had ever seen on his face, and opened the door.  
“Hi! So nice to meet you, Cheryl. I’m Betty Jones and this,” She turned to look at him and he got a peek at the red headed intruder. “is my husband. Jughead Jones.”   
Jughead moves forward to shake hands with the mayor, her immaculate nails brushed against his hand like a talon.   
“So nice to meet you.. Jug Head? And you too Betty! The welcoming committee made you guys a basket that I hope you will enjoy,”   
Cheryl placed the basket in Jugheads arms and turned to look back at Betty- essentially dismissing him.  
“Well thank you so much, I’m sure we’ll love it.”  
Cheryl smiled back at her in a way that didn’t seem welcoming at all, but also like this was just how she was all the time. “I’m sure you will. I’d just like to let you know the town is hosting a fall festival this weekend, and I’m sure the rest of Riverdale can’t wait to meet you both.”   
Betty turned her head to look back at Jughead and her eyes brows were high on her forehead in surprise.  
Personally it didn’t really schlock him since this was how his life in Jersey had been before his family disappeared, always trying to be the first to know about the new people on the block.  
“Yeah that sounds like a lot of fun, we’ll be sure to stop by.” Betty recovered well before continuing.  
“Well I’ll be happy to see you if you do, make sure to stop by the bake sale and try my famous cherry pie. It’s to die for.”  
Jughead couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped him, “I’m sure it is..”  
Betty was slightly smiling too as she ushered the nosy mayor out of the house, “We’ll see you then. Bye!!”   
“Well okay. Goodbye.” Betty closed the door on Cheryl’s face and turned back to look at Jughead. She put her hands on her knees and blew out a stress filled breath.  
“Jesus are they all like that?”


	7. Chapter 6

It was strange for Jughead to think that people thought him capable of being someone’s husband, of having a wife. Of course it wasn’t for real, but all these people in this town thought it was- and they just accepted it. Thought it was possible for a guy like him to ever be in the same league as Betty.   
After Cheryl had left their house, the couple both went to work on finding a job- Jughead suspected it was easier for him since he had always just done whatever job came his way. But it was different for Betty, from what he could tell it was hard for her to stray from anything that wasn’t planned exactly how she had it. When he had told her he was heading out for an interview she had tried to insisist on coming with, to protect him. Jughead had told her he was capable of driving the car down the street and not getting into any serious trouble- she eventually accepted it but the look on her face said she didn’t like it.   
He had headed down the street to a place called Andrews Construction, to meet up with the owner. The guy seemed pretty cool, around the same age as himself and with shockingly bright red hair.  
Archie Andrews hired him that day to start on Monday, and it didn’t shock him when he started asking questions about what he thought he knew about his life. That’s when Archie asked about Jugheads wife, and it hit him that people really believed it.  
He had stuttered and made up some stuff about her being fantastically nice and a great cook- all the things he knew about her. Realizing in that moment they would have to learn a bit more about each other if they were going to pull this off.   
So when Jughead saw his red headed boss at the fair on Saturday it shocked him when he said he had already met his wife.   
Him and Betty had split off when Jughead spotted the food spread and had agreed to meet up in about ten minutes.  
“Hey! Jones, how you been?”  
“Good, just looking to grab some grub before going on the rides.” The last of his sentence had been a bit sarcastic but Archie didn’t really seem to notice.   
“Oh yeah? Ronnie loves going on these type of rides. Ferris wheel is her favorite. Ronnie’s my wife.”   
“I’d love to meet her some time, I’m actually looking for mine. Wife that is..” Jughead still felt a bit strange referring to Betty as his wife but continued to search anyways.   
“She’s with Ronnie and Freddie, near the face painting station. Freddie really seems to like her.”  
“Freddie?” It was unintentional, but a hint of emotion that Jughead refused to admit he was feeling seeped into his voice when asking about another guy likening Betty.   
“My son. He’s about to turn four in a few months.” Jughead instantly felt ridiculous for being jealous of a three year old.  
Archie must have seen the sheepish look on his face when he asked, because next thing you know he’s bursting out laughing.  
“C’mon I’ll show you where they are, and if you have to worry about anyone it’d probably be Reggie. He thinks himself a lady killer.”  
“Well Betty takes down killers like that all the time..” Jughead hadn’t really meant to let anything involving killing slip but he decided to laugh it off instead.  
It was easy talking with Archie, he didn’t have to try or be fake with this guy, even though he was no where near what his old friends had been back in New York.   
“Oh here they are.” Jughead looked towards where Archie was pointing and saw a woman with raven hair sitting next to Betty, who had a little auburn haired kid sitting on her lap.   
The girl he assumed to be Ronnie got up and waved Archie over, “Babe come over, I think Freddie’s in love!!!” Betty was laughing as the artist continued to draw a princes crown on her forehead as she looked up at Jughead.  
“Hey Jug, wanna get your face done too?” She was smiling and Jughead couldn’t help but nod stupidly at her in response.  
“What should I get?”  
“Hmm I don’t know? What do you think Freddie? What should he get?”   
Freddie turned in Betty’s lap and looked at the man in question, “Who’s that?”  
Archie answered for her, “That is Betty’s husband, Fred.”   
“No! My Betty!” He angrily looked at Jughead and pulled on Betty’s neck.   
“Watch out bud, you don’t want to mess up my crown or yours.” Freddie and Betty had gotten prince and princess crowns to match. It seemed like Betty seemed to really like this kid, so Jughead would try his best to make a good impression.   
“Hey Freddie, look I have a crown too,” he pointed to the grey beanie he had worn for years that had certain spikes that some kids had called a crown before.  
“No! Only Betty and me have crowns,” he went and whispered in Betty’s ear before she started laughing and nodding.   
“Here C’mon Jug, we got a surprise for you. Your gonna get your face painted but you won’t know till after, right Freddie?” She looked at the boy who was standing next to her as Jughead took the chair from them to get his face done. He didn’t really care what he got, just that Betty was having fun.  
Ronnie walked over and asked Freddie what he was going to make Jughead get, “ Oooh that’s a good one, why don’t you go and whisper it in the face painters ear.” Freddie toddled off before Archie’s wife came over to introduce herself.  
“Hi I’m Veronica, Archie’s wife. And Freddie’s mom, you must be Betty’s husband. Thanks for being so accommodating with Fred. He can get kind of possessive.” Jughead tried to nod his head as the face painter continues to draw on his face. 

Betty had laughed heartily when Jugheads face was done, after he stood up Freddie started to chop at his feet and ‘slay’ him.  
“What am I?”  
“A dragon, Jug!!”   
“Oh am I? Then I guess I must battle the prince who came to kill me... aghhhh!!!” Jughead started chasing Freddie and picked him up pretending to eat him, the three year old couldn’t help but squeal in glee.  
“Put me down!!! I have to slay you, not the other way around. Duh!”   
“Oh of course my bad...”   
“Don’t worry I’ll save you princess Betty!!”   
He was about to charge Jughead when Archie swooped him up and put him on top of his shoulders.   
“C’mon little prince, time for your nap.” Freddie started wailing his protest, crying how he wasn’t tired.  
“Thanks for being so cool, Betty you and I should definitely hang out! Some time this week?”  
Betty smiled and waved at the retreating couple, “Yeah for sure, Ronnie. Bye Fred!”  
“See ya Monday, Jughead.”   
He waved his goodbye and turned to look back at Betty. “Well that was fun.”  
“Yeah tell me about it. You wanna grab something to eat, I’m starving.”  
Jughead couldn’t agree more, so he nodded and followed the princess to the food table.   
Piling their plates high with Mac n cheese, chicken, brownies, and pizza they headed to the dessert table.  
Choosing was harder than they thought it would be for the two of them, they were laughing over apple or cherry pie when a voice interupted them.  
“Oh the Jones’s, good to see you could make it.” The judgement in Cheryl’s voice was palpable- not approving of the two grown adults with ridiculous face paint on.  
“Yea we were just debating over who was going to win on dessert. I wanted apple, Betty wants cherry pie... What to do?” His question was obviously rhetorical, but Cheryl decided to answer it anyway.  
“Well I’d recommend the cherry, my own creation- of course.” As she was speaking yet another red haired man appeared.   
Betty eyes squinted at the girl before choosing the opposite out of spite, “You know what? I think we’ll go with your choice, Jug. Apple it is.”   
“Well it’s your loss, might I introduce to you my brother, Jason. He’s the sheriff in Riverdale.”   
The young man in question stepped forward with a friendly smile, exuding a happy and good natured personality- seeming to be the opposite of his sister.   
“It’s nice to meet you folks. I’m Jason Blossom,” he stuck his hand out to shake both Betty and Jugheads hands.  
“I hope you’re enjoying the festivities here, love the face paint- you already look like you belong in Riverdale.” Jadon smiled at them before putting his hands back in his pockets.  
“Well it was great meeting you, Jason. I think Jug and I are gonna head home,” Betty looked at him for confirmation, and he immediately nodded his head. Jughead would probably say yes to almost anything she said so long as she was with him.  
“Yeah, we’re gonna go. Goodnight. To you too, Cheryl. Sorry we missed out on that cherry- maybe next time.”   
Jug and Betty turned their back on the Blossoms and started walking home. It was strange to Jughead, he had been here a few days and he was already calling the little blue house- home.   
He suspected it had to do with him being raised from a bad home, to being a run away, and then to living in the bar as a teen. This was probably the closest he’d ever had to a place he could really call home. And sure you could call Riverdale boring- which it kinda was, but he liked the quiet calmness of it.   
He sat at the table with Betty and they both blew through all the food they had taken home, getting up she took both of their trash and threw it out.   
She was gone for a few minutes and Jughead sat there in comfortable silence before she broke it.  
“I’m taking the couch tonight. Just so you know.” Betty flopped down on the couch, spreading as far as she could and claimed it for herself for the night.


End file.
